It's original by an unknown maker, referred to as the 'Unmarked, Ball Hinge, Die 1'. It was made in neusilber and later, zinc. This one appears to be the latter, and has taken a high speed hit at an acute angle by the look of it, leaving a trace of oxidised copper/ verdigris on the scrapes, possibly shrapnel or a bullet? Nice piece, if only it could talk eh...?

Last edited by big ned; 07-02-2014 at 08:13 PM.

'I do not think we can hope for any better thing now.
We shall stick it out to the end, but we are getting weaker of course, and the end cannot be far.
It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more. R. SCOTT.
Last Entry - For God's sake look after our people.'